


Phone Calls and Spirals

by fabricsofteners



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crying, Depressing Thoughts, Depression, F/M, Family Issues, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt, Parental Struggles, Therapy, leon gives her the hug, punching walls, self hatred, they have a dog still, they kiss, theyre in love, toko needs a hug, toko needs help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:39:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24139747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabricsofteners/pseuds/fabricsofteners
Summary: Toko Fukawa was pretty sure she was getting better. She felt better than she ever had before....She was ashamed one single phone call took that from her.
Relationships: Fukawa Touko/Kuwata Leon, Leon Kuwata/Toko Fukawa
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	Phone Calls and Spirals

**Author's Note:**

> So if you're like nearly all of the population, you may be wondering where the hell Toko x Leon came from! They literally never interact in canon and actually don't even have a TDP interaction, so what the hell?   
> Well!   
> As you read this, I believe there are small hints at the actual killing game that inspired this whole ship! It was done in Miku's Killing Game, an instagram RP that has since been deleted, by myself and a friend. We've both fallen in love with the ship, though, and have decided they are in love, which led to the large mass of Toko x Leon (or, Papercut as we call it) posts on my account. 
> 
> Anyway! Even if you don't particularly enjoy the ship, I hope you enjoy the fic.

When she escaped the killing game with Leon, one of the first things Toko Fukawa was made to do was to get a therapist. She needed one, she knew that, it was just something she couldn't do before the game. Parental blocks, mostly, telling her she didn't  _ actually  _ need it. 

Bastards. 

No less, Leon had made her aware she  _ desperately  _ needed it and spent a solid two weeks helping her find a qualified therapist, and she'd been with that same therapist (a lovely woman by the name of Kaoru Sato) for the entire year and a half since they escaped. 

She had actually been doing well, too, Toko thought. She felt productive, she hadn't spent a single day wallowing in bed all day, and she ate three meals a day. 

Or, she  _ was,  _ until the one, gross, gross morning that Toko Fukawa woke up to the sound of her phone ringing instead of her alarm. 

Leon had called her after he left a few times - he'd forgotten his keys or hadn't had time to let Sushi, their beloved dog, out for a walk. This wasn't Leon, though - being the loving fool she was, Toko had given Leon his own ringtone so she knew when he called. This wasn't that ringtone - and it wasn't the tone for her other contacts. 

With a quiet yawn and a groan from Sushi at her feet, Toko sat up in bed and reached over to the bedside table, putting on her glasses before she picked up her phone, reading the number. 

It was familiar in a way, but she didn't know who it belonged to off the top of her head. 

No less, she answered, holding the phone up to her ear and yawning again before she greeted the person on the other end, "Hello?" 

"Toko?" 

The voice on the other end was one Toko knew well. Too well. Full of disdain, and annoyance. An American accent poking through. Toko's hands began to shake. 

"...M...Mother?" 

  
  


Toko had taken pride in her incline of recovery. It had been  _ months  _ since she'd last laid in bed in absolute silence and completely ignored every need her body had. 

She woke up at seven fourteen AM to her phone. Her american mother hung up at seven forty-nine AM, after asking her japanese mother to 'talk' to her too, even her father. 

She'd texted Leon at eight AM on the dot to keep him for worrying about her, as she always texted him when she woke up. 

Usually, at 8:15, she got up and got dressed. At 8:30, she made herself breakfast and let out the dog. Then she would work, until noon and then she would have lunch. Then, around 1:00PM, back to work until 3:30. Leon got home around two. 

She made such a strict schedule because it kept her from having spare time. A tip from her therapist. 

She was so determined to keep the schedule. 

She didn't even make it past step one. 

Her mother had called and every bit of recovery Toko thought she'd made felt collapsed. She wanted nothing more than to lay in bed and not move. Even as Sushi whimpered and pawed at her arm she didn't want to move. 

She had been laying on her back, staring at the ceiling for God-knew how long. 

Sushi needed to go out. She was pawing Toko's arm and whining more aggressively now. Begging. 

She rolled her head to the side, reading the clock that sat on Leon's bedside's table. 

11:45 and she hadn't even left bed… 

Her mother was right. She was just as pathetic as ever. 

But Sushi needed to go outside. So with her eyes closed, Toko finally pushed herself into a sitting position again, throwing the blanket off her. It felt like such a chore to move. 

No less, she slowly made her way out of bed, much to the joy of her dog, who gave a small bark and ran out of the bedroom, no doubt towards the backdoor. 

With another sigh, Toko picked up her phone again and left the bedroom. She didn't bother to change from her pajamas - if she had it her way, she would lay down again as soon as Sushi was back inside. 

For now, she made her way out of the room with the dog, her footsteps echoing down the hallway and through the living room and kitchen, until she made her way to the backdoor and unlocked and opened it. Sushi ran out, running in circles before she finally did her business. 

Usually, Toko took a lot of joy in watching the dog do just about anything. Her long ears flopped around and she was clumsy on her big feet. She was cute. 

Toko really, really wished she could feel the happiness she usually felt looking at her. It wasn't Sushi's fault she was like this. 

It wasn't anyone's fault but her own.  _ Just  _ like her mother said. 

It was much too long until Sushi came back inside and Toko could shut the door and block out sunlight again… She wanted to go lay back down, but how pathetic would that be? How  _ weak  _ was she? It was just a damned phone call! 

Okay. Instead of laying down, she would take a shower. That would be fine. Right. 

Toko made her way back to the bedroom with Sushi on her heels, going to the dresser that her and Leon's clothes were in. After a split second of hesitation she took out one of his shirts. 

If she got dressed,  _ maybe  _ she would feel better. Stronger. Less of a pathetic idiot. 

But it… felt like way too much work. 

So she took out one of his shirts, and after more hesitation, a pair of her own pajama pants. It was August, it was hot, she'd been wearing shorts to sleep as of late. 

The tally-mark scars on her leg ached, though, and she didn't want to see them. So she pulled out the pants and his shirt, along with a clean pair of underwear. She could feel better about that, at least. Less dirty. 

With clothes in hand, Toko crossed the room again to the bathroom. As soon as her foot hit tile, Sushi laid down against the wall and wagged her tail. She always waited for them. 

The corner of her mouth twitched into a near smile, though as soon as the door shut behind her it fell. 

She dropped the clean clothes on the floor and pulled a towel from the closet, setting it on the bathroom counter. After that, she pulled the curtain in front of the bathtub, reaching around it to turn on the water. 

It was exhausting to do that much. 

Toko was so exhausted. 

She checked the time on her phone as she took it from the pocket of her shorts. 12:06. 

Usually she would be eating. And she had skipped breakfast, so she  _ definitely  _ should have been eating. She didn't feel hungry. 

She always texted Leon when she paused work to eat - he told her he worried she didn't take care of herself while he was out, so she started telling him. 

She could text him so he didn't worry today. Lie. 

But… her text would just take valuable time from his work. He was writing now, probably. Working with Sayaka, his music partner, on a new song. She didn't need to distract from that.. and she didn't like lying to him anyway. 

She flipped her phone face-down and turned towards the shower again. The water was on, hot, fogging up her glasses and the mirror behind her. She sniffled quietly as she took off her glasses, setting them next to her phone. 

It had taken six months of therapy to get over her… fear of bathing. She still couldn't lock the door behind her. It was stupid. She knew it was stupid the whole time. 

_ Toko  _ was stupid. 

"D-Damnit-!" She groaned loudly, tugging at her messy hair with her hands. She was so sick of her mother's voice echoing in her head. 

Sushi barked outside, and she exhaled slowly, taking her hands down. It was fine. 

She would take a shower and feel better, she would text Leon and she would eat something. It would be fine. 

Right. 

With the mirror fully fogged out, Toko shrugged out of her dirty clothing, gently setting the engagement ring Leon gave her on the counter, and stepped into the shower. She was fine. It was fine. 

The water poured over her and it felt somewhat grounding. It was just a call. Toko was still living her lovely little domestic life with Leon, not back in her childhood home. No matter what her mother said. She never had to see them again. 

She could think about something else. 

Her hair was long. Really long. Maybe she could get it cut? It'd be good to try something new instead of the same double braids she'd been doing for almost thirteen years now. As long as she could remember. 

_ Make you look less ugly, anyway.  _

… 

Neither of her mothers ever did shut up. 

She tapped her fingers against her own leg before she picked up the shampoo bottle. She poured quite a generous amount onto her hands before she began rubbing at her scalp with her fingertips. 

See? Fine. Absolutely fine. 

She kept up her shower routine, rinsing her hair and applying conditioner, bodywash. The usual. She was fine. 

Far too soon she was done. She didn't want to just sit and let her thoughts wander. So with yet another sigh, she turned off the water and opened the curtain. 

She stood there for a minute, dripping onto the mat that laid in front of the shower, before she picked up the towel from the counter and pat her skin dry, then turned to her hair. So long, such a hassle to dry. So be it. 

She checked the time again as she did. It was only 12:37. 

She still had an hour and a half before Leon would get home. 

She twisted the towel around a chunk of her hair, wringing water out into the towel. 

_ He probably likes Sayaka's company more than your's.  _

No. Sayaka and Leon were work partners, nothing more. Leon loved Toko and her mother needed to shut up and get out of her head. 

12:48, her hair was dry as it would get. She picked up the shirt, pulling it on. It smelled like him, baggy over her much smaller frame than his own. Comforting. 

She glanced up at the foggy mirror, blurry silhouette staring back. 

_ Ugly.  _

She looked back down, picking up the underwear and pulling those on, followed by the pants. Aggressively avoiding looking at the tallies. 

_ Killer.  _

Toko closed her eyes, furrowing her eyebrows, exhaling slowly through her teeth. She slid the ring back on her left hand where it was supposed to be. 

_ Annoying.  _

She opened her eyes again, meeting the blurred eyes of her reflection. 

_ Nobody  _ **_loves_ ** _ you. No one  _ **_could._ **

Toko slammed her eyes shut again immediately, though that wasn't the only response her person made. She heard the shattering of the glass before she felt it. 

Then, she felt it. 

Multiple stabbing pain in her fist, an ache in her knuckles. 

She cracked her eyes open once more, meeting hundreds of blurred reflections in the now-shattered mirror. Her right fist still rested in the center of it, blood slowly dripping down on the glass. 

_ Idiot.  _

Toko slowly took her hand back, examining it. She had luckily avoided getting glass stuck in her hand, but she was still bleeding. 

More importantly… she'd broken the mirror. How pissed would Leon be? Pissed his pathetic excuse of a girlfriend - fiancee, even - couldn't handle a fucking  _ phonecall _ so much so she broke something? 

She lowered her eyes. 

12:53. 

She knelt down, opening the bathroom cabinet under the sink and pulling out a bandage wrap. More often than not they kept these because Toko was clumsy and carried scissors on her at almost all times, as… neither of them had slipped up and punched something in a long time. Of course Toko was the dumbass who would do it. 

Of course she would break something. 

She pulled out the bandages, tossing them on the counter. She might should find some disinfectant…

She couldn't bring herself to care. She let the cabinet door swing shut, standing up. She ran cold water, letting it run over her hand. 

It… stung. 

Blood usually made her pass out. She wasn't sure what changed. Probably nothing. She felt so  _ empty  _ she didn't think a single feeling, even her fear of blood, would make that change. 

She watched it run down the sink, sighing quietly. 

_ So fucking stupid. _

Once it seemed mostly cleaned, she turned off the water and picked up the bandage wrap. Her knuckles were still bleeding but her fingers weren't covered in it, anyway. 

She kicked the toilet lid down with her foot and sat down using her clean hand to begin wrapping her injured one. 

Last time she messed up and punched something, it was the music room wall of Hope's Peak Academy. Leon had bandaged it for her. Kissed her hand afterwards like she'd done for him a day or two prior. 

Now, instead, she was sat on the toilet of their home, wrapping her own hand and wincing openly as it stung. The first layer was immediately drowned in her blood, not that she stopped. She just wrapped it a few more times until blood stopped showing through. She lost count of the number. 

When she was done, she used her teeth to tear it off and tape it down, standing up with a groan. It hurt. Her hand, her head. 

She felt exceptionally empty - not sad, not angry. The feeling of absolutely  _ nothing  _ was one she knew well. She felt the pain in her hand but she didn't have any emotion related to it. 

…

Maybe she should call Kaoru, technically that was the point of having a therapist, but… it would probably be an annoyance. It was just a phone call. 

She sniffed and picked up the dirty clothes and towel from the floor, and left the room. Sushi stood up immediately, doing a little turn, tail wagging. 

Toko really wished she could smile at her antics. 

She tossed the clothes in the laundry basket by the door and returned to the bathroom for nothing else to pick up her phone. 

1:07. 

Still an hour. 

What was she even worried about it for? When he got home Leon would finally realize how pathetic she was. 

A  _ year and a half  _ of help and she still let a phone call get to her. She was pathetic, not worth his time… Maybe he should like Sayaka more than her. She liked just about anyone more than herself. 

He'd see her as she'd always been - a pathetic girl who was too stupid to handle things without breaking things. See that he was a fool for everything she was worth his exceptionally valuable time. See she'd wasted the last year and a half of his life just by being in it. 

She didn't deserve him. She never would. 

She glanced at the bed that called her name, then at the door. 

… 

She could be a little less pathetic, at least, and wallow on the couch. Let Leon see her the second he walked in. 

She pushed the bedroom door open again and left, wishing quite a bit that her footsteps were quieter. That  _ everything  _ was quieter. 

She was almost tempted by the remote on the table in front of the couch as she sat down in the middle of it, but… It would just be noise. Just a lot of noise. 

Toko pushed her glasses up on her nose and checked the time again. 

1:15- 

**New Message.**

It was her mother's number again.

**By the way, save this number. We should call and catch up more. I miss having an annoyance around the house.**

Her hands shook. She didn't even know how her mother had gotten the number. She didn't want to know. For a moment, her hand tightened around the phone and in the next moment it was across the room. 

She didn't want it in her hand anymore. She didn't want to look at that ugly sting of numbers, she didn't want to see the malicious words staring back at her. 

She heard it hit the wall next to the front door, then the floor. 

_ Such pathetic outbursts.  _

_ So pathetic.  _

Her knuckles stung. Her eyes stung. Everything stung. 

She wanted Leon to come home and tell her it was going to be okay. She knew that wasn't what was going to happen, but it's what she wanted. 

He was going to come home and tell her to get out of his house, but she could dream. 

With another sniffle, Toko pulled her legs up next to her and laid down on the couch. It didn't make her feel better, it was uncomfortable, she had no pillow, but she didn't have to support her own weight. 

She took off her glasses and tossed them in the direction of the table, not caring how they landed. She was so tired but she really, really didn't want to bother closing her eyes. 

She gently pat the couch next to her with a whistle towards Sushi. 

"H-Hey, Sush," she couldn't be bothered to get her voice above a whisper. No less, the dog jumped up next to her and licked her hand until Toko rubbed her ears gently and sighed, "Good p-p-puppy." 

She leaned down to kiss Sushi's head and then put her arm over her, resting the other over her own chest. 

Sushi sighed, pushing her nose against Toko's shoulder and closing her eyes. Toko tilted her head back up, staring straight ahead. She didn't know the time now, but she didn't care. 

She didn't want to see the message. She didn't want Leon to come home and see her like this. 

Her head felt foggy and heavy at the same time it felt so incredibly empty. She felt like a shell. 

At the same time she wanted to cry, she had absolutely no will to even do that. 

She just stared at the turned off TV, feeling as Sushi fell asleep next to her, listening as the puppy started to snore. She was tired at the same time she was wide awake. 

Absolutely awful. 

She wondered in the back of her mind if she was hungry. Her mouth felt dry - she hadn't eaten or had anything to drink since dinner the night before. 

… 

She didn't have the energy to do anything about it. 

She heard a car pull up in the driveway and felt her heart sink. Here it was! The end to the best thing in her life. She wondered if she'd have to move back in with her parents or if she had enough money to buy an apartment. 

Sushi stirred as well. She wondered if she would miss Toko. She was Leon's dog, technically. She wouldn't even dream of taking her from him. 

Maybe he'd let her keep this shirt since she'd already gotten her pathetic energy all over it. If he'd miss her at all. 

…

_ No one would ever miss someone like you.  _

The lock turned. She wanted to cry now more than ever. She didn't want to lose Leon. 

_ It doesn't matter what you want. You don't deserve him.  _

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as the door opened. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. Sushi jumped up and ran straight to him, leaving her alone. 

_ As you deserve to be.  _

"What the Hell-?" 

She heard his quiet whisper, his shushing over Sushi. The tears were now actively running down her face, over the bridge of her nose and down by her ear due to her laying on her side. She was getting her stupid tears on his couch. 

_ Alone. Pathetic and alone like you were meant to be.  _

The sob that she choked out was supposed to be silent. It wasn't. 

"Toko?!" His voice was panicked, frantic as she heard the door shut behind him. Footsteps crossed the living room and still she couldn't move. 

The second she saw the white of his favourite jacket enter her sight she slammed her eyes closed and choked out another sob. 

She didn't want him to see her like this. At all. She didn't want to face this, she didn't want him to kick her out. To leave her. 

"Toko!" He was right in front of her now. Here it came! 

_ Wow! What an idiot! Please get the hell out of my house and never speak to me again. I can't believe I wasted so much time with you.  _

There was a hand on the side of her face, and she couldn't find the energy to recoil away from it. This was probably the last time she'd ever get to touch him, maybe she should hold onto it. 

"Hey, hey! Toko, it's okay. It's okay. Can you look at me? I'm here. I'm right here." 

No, no, if she looked at him he would tell her. If she put it off now she could listen to his voice more. 

The thumb on her face rubbed small circles under her shut eye. 

"It's alright," he spoke again, "You're alright. I'm here now." 

For someone ready to kick her onto the streets and break up with her, he really did sound so kind. Concerned. 

She missed the empty feeling. It was preferable to sobbing. 

It was another few moments of listening to him comfort her and sobbing before she realized all she was doing was prolonging the inevitable. No matter how long she laid here and sobbed he was still going to be done with her. 

She finally cracked open her eyes and met his own. The tightness in her throat increased and another sob bubbled out before she sat up all at once, and flung her arms around his neck. She pressed her face into his shoulder, trying to memorize the feeling. The smell. Everything. 

If she was going to lose this forever, she could at least remember what it felt like for when she was lonely in the future. 

She felt his hands on her back through the layer of her still somewhat-wet hair. His goatee brushed her ear, his hair her forehead. Other than her sobbing, she wanted every single detail imprinted into her memory. 

He was still comforting her. Why? Why was he still trying? 

"Alright, this is uncomfortable, let me-" One of his hands left her back and she wondered if this was the end, but in the next moment it was on her leg and he was picking her up. Strong bastard. Was he going to carry her out himself? That desperate to get rid of her? 

She didn't bother lifting her head from his shoulder as she felt him turn around - and sink down onto the couch she'd prior been leaning on, leaving her sat on his lap. 

"There we go. Alright." 

What the hell kind of… Hell, was this? Comforting her before he told her how much he hated her? It only made her sob more. 

She wasn't even a foot away from him - in fact she wasn't away from him at all, she was quite literally in his lap - and she missed the feeling of being loved. All because of that damn phone call, because of her damn mothers. 

Toko really, really didn't want him to leave. To make her leave. Her fingers tightened around the fabric of his jacket. 

_ Wasting more of his time by being here.  _

"It's alright," he whispered yet again, one of his hands brushing her hair while the other supported her back, "'S okay. 'M here. Whatever it is, it's alright." 

Damn him! Damn him for being comforting. Damn him for making her feel safe when she knew what was on the other end of this interaction. Damn him. 

It was too soon that her sobs died off, tears slowly stopping. She should have drank some water so she had more tears to cry. More time in his arms. 

"There you go," he kept whispering even as she stopped sobbing, instead just shaking in his lap, "See? All good. It's all good." 

The hand that was running through her hair moved, carefully lifting her chin up so she was facing him. There was only concern on his features, no anger or annoyance or hatred… But, what with the recent sob and the lack of glasses, her vision was blurry as all hell; she must have just been missing it. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" 

She went to shake her head. No, no, it was more pathetic to  _ tell  _ him she knew he hated her now. But… if she spoke, she had more time. That's what she wanted… as much time as she could squeeze out of this before it was gone. 

"I'm s-s-sorry," is what she said instead of an explanation, looking down, too ashamed to meet his eyes, "I-I'm so sorry." 

"What? Hey, no. Don't apologize. It's okay. I'm- why would I be upset?" 

She did shake her head now. She knew he was upset already! She knew, she knew she  _ knew!  _

"I-I-... even after all th-th-the help you gave m-me, and the time with K-Kaoru I'm still so  _ w-weak! _ Just a phone c-c-call and I'm sobbing on the c-couch and breaking the m-mirror and I feel like  _ th-this _ and it's pathetic!" She didn't know where the energy to talk so much, "I'm p-pathetic and a complete w-waste of your time and I'm s-so sorry…" 

The hand that was holding her chin moved up her face to cup her cheek and even so she couldn't look up at him. Couldn't face the anger she knew was in his eyes. 

"I'm not upset with you for being down, Toko. I never expected you to just be okay all the time. That would be stupid of me." 

"B-But," Why? Why couldn't he just say he was mad? "All the help you p-p-put in, it's wasted and-" 

"No it isn't. It's not wasted, 'cause one shit day doesn't mean you're not gettin' better," he ran his hand through her hair again, smiling at her, "You're still makin' it through the days. You're still getting better." 

"I-I-I-" 

"No, no buts," he put a finger to her lips, "You are. When was the last time you felt this bad, hm?" 

"I-It was… um… I th-think it was… five m-months or so ago?" 

"See? Toko, that was  _ five  _ months ago. How often did it happen before you started seeing Kaoru?" 

"...I d-don't know. A few times a m-m-month." 

"See? Improvement. Toko, you're doing so well. This is a little bump." 

… 

She wished she understood why he was so nice to her. Why he acted so understanding. She didn't, though, and instead she just leaned her head forward and rested it against his chest. His hand brushed her hair in a steady pattern. 

"You're still strong as hell," he spoke, resting his chin on her head, "Makin' it through everything you have. So what you tripped? Can't let that ruin ya' - get back up 'n keep going." 

She was silent for a moment. It made sense. He  _ always _ made sense. For a dumbass, he was really smart.

"I'm… j-just wasting more time. B-B-Being like this. You h-have other things to d-do." 

"The most important thing to me is making sure you're okay. It always has been, it's always going to be. I don't care what other obligations I have. I care about you." 

… 

She felt nice hearing that. Not empty, not sad. It felt nice. 

"Do you want to talk about it? The phone call that messed you up?" 

Her arms tightened around his neck, he seemed to notice, leaning his head against her's, rubbing a small circle on her back while he pet her hair, "'S okay if you don't want to." 

She shook her head, one of her hands, the bandaged one, reaching up to tangle in his hair, something else to ground her. 

"I d-do," she spoke quietly, "It was… m-my parents called." 

Immediately, his hands tightened around her. She had, eventually, told him everything her parents did to her. After a nightmare one night, when she'd woken up  _ screaming.  _ He'd… been rather reluctant to even think about her trio of parents since then. 

"Sh-She- I don't know how sh-she got my number, b-b-but…" 

"Your parents are full of shit, Toki," he spoke softly, though she could feel the anger creeping into his voice. She had to remind herself that it wasn't at her, enforced by the nickname. 

He really only called her 'Toki' when he was trying  _ extra  _ hard to make her comfortable. She appreciated it. 

"You know that, right? They're assholes 'n not worth a goddamn second of your time." 

She just kind of nodded. Yeah. That was a point Kaoru and Leon were both hammering into her head as time went on. 

"You wanna block 'em in a bit? I grabbed your phone from beside the door. Did you drop it or throw it?" 

… 

_ Pathetic outburst.  _

"Threw i-it," she answered honestly, hoping desperately that wasn't the answer that made him leave. If it wasn't she was sure the mirror would be what did it, but… Well, "C-Can we? Please."

"Alright. When you're feelin' a bit better I'm gonna send 'em a hella douchey text and then we're gonna block 'em and it'll be great." 

She just nodded again, still trying to process that he wasn't mad at her. She hadn't done anything he saw as wrong. 

_ Until he finds out about the mirror.  _

_ Or he finds out you didn't eat.  _

She did her best to force those thoughts down, clinging onto his hair and neck. He wasn't mad at her yet. 

"Next question. You said you broke a mirror?" 

… 

"I'm s-sorry," she whispered, "I didn't… I d-d-didn't mean to." 

"How'd you break it?" 

She sniffled quietly as she untangled her hand from his hair to show it to him. As soon as he seemed to see it, his hand left her hair and gently gripped her hand. She looked up, seeing the furrowing of his eyebrows. Already, blood was seeping through the outmost layer. 

"Did you clean them? The cuts?" She shook her head, "We'll do that in a bit too, get you a fresh wrap. We'll get a new mirror this weekend." 

We'll. He was still saying we. 

… Was his plan not to kick her out? 

"O-Okay," she just nodded. It didn't make sense why he was still being nice to her. Nothing about Leon Kuwata had ever made sense. 

"Before that, have you eaten today? Had anything to drink?" 

She shook her head again. She couldn't even take care of herself… 

"That first, then. Come on-" He stood up, then, taking her with him. She squeaked out of impulse, clinging tighter to his neck so she didn't fall, "I'm gonna make you a sandwich." 

"I c-could walk-" she didn't want to make him work more for her, but he didn't seem to be listening, only holding her leg up as he crossed the living room towards the kitchen. 

"You think I'm gonna make you work when you've felt like you have all day? No. It's Spoil Toki day now." 

She huffed quietly, though instead of continuing to fight back, she wrapped her legs around his waist to hold herself up more. 

Now she was thinking about food and her mind was more clear, she was hungry. And she didn't exceptionally  _ mind  _ getting spoiled a little bit, if she shoved the words of her parents back to the very back of her mind. 

"You have anything you want?" She just shook her head, chin on his shoulder. She watched Sushi walk next to him, tail wagging. A faint smile twitched into place on her face. 

He carefully set her down on the kitchen island, leaning back from her face, his hands on either side of her legs as he smiled at her. Then, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. 

"Kh-! H-Hey!" 

"Sorry," he wasn't, he kissed her nose again before he pushed himself of from the counter and turned to the cabinet, immediately digging out a pan, "You're too cute." 

She huffed, but watched him work in silence. He set the pan on the stove and moved to the fridge, pulling out butter and cheese and then got the bread from on top of it. 

"Grilled cheese work?" He asked over his shoulder, "'S just fast and easy. I wanna get you somethin' to eat fast as I can." 

She nodded, "It's f-f-fine. I could make it m-myself-" 

"Nope~!" He turned on the stove and put a slice of butter in the pan, turning down her offer in a sing-song voice, "Told ya', I'm spoiling you all day." 

"D-Don't have to…" 

"I know I don't! I want to!" 

He was letting the butter melt now as he turned to another cabinet, pulling down a glass, then going to the fridge again and pulling out their water pitcher, filling the glass and turning to Toko, holding it out to her. 

"Drink, please?" 

She took it from him thankfully, as time went on and she was left to think about her needs she hadn't tended to all day, she was absolutely parched. She drank half the glass without pause, the other half after a quick break. 

"Thank you," he took the glass and refilled it again before setting it next to her again, then returning the pitcher to the fridge and turning back to the stove.

He put together the sandwich cold before sliding it onto the melted butter. She couldn't see more than the back of him, but it smelled nice. Her stomach involuntarily growled and she muttered some apology, met with some confirmation she needn't worry about it. 

She just swung her feet a small amount and periodically sipped the water. 

"So… What did they call about?" 

She looked down at the ground and her feet stopped swinging, "My f-father was a fan of y-y-your's from your baseball d-days. He found out a-about the engagement on y-your Twitter, and… they j-just wanted to remind me h-h-how unworthy of love I a-am. The usual." 

"That's such bull, I-!" Toko heard and saw Leon huff as he flipped the sandwich, "God. They're so pissed you get to be happy 'cause it fucks with their life goal of ruining your's… Fuck, Toko, I love you, but I want to fight your family." 

She nodded, "Y-Yeah… me too." 

He took a paper towel off the roll and set the sandwich on it before he turned to her, eyebrows knitted together. 

"You know it's not true, right? You're worthy of love. You deserve all the happiness in the goddamn world," his tone was serious, using his free hand to lift her chin up to make eye contact with her, "I mean that. You're allowed to be happy no matter what they say." 

"I-I know," she tried to pretend she did, anyway. She could dream, "I know." 

He furrowed his eyebrows more before his expression relaxed and he kissed her forehead, then held out the sandwich to her. 

"Okay. I'm gonna go get disinfectant and the bandages, 'mkay? I'll be back real quick. Go ahead and eat," She took it with a faint smile, watching as he turned away and started walking towards the living room again, calling over his shoulder, "Keep an eye on her, Sush!" 

The dog stayed sat near Toko's feet like she understood the request. 

Toko stared at the grilled cheese in her hand and then the dog… Half of her wanted to give it to her. Wanted to skip the meal. Half of her thought she didn't deserve it… 

The other half of it didn't agree. He'd put in the work… she took a bite of the sandwich. She gently rubbed Sushi's head with her bare foot, listening as her tail bumped into the counter over and over. 

Leon came back the next moment, smiling when he saw her eating. He crossed to the kitchen, setting the disinfectant and bandages opposite her water. He also handed her her glasses, which she thankfully put on. 

He then tugged a chair from their kitchen table over, sitting it in front of her, sitting down himself. 

He took her empty hand, the bandaged one, in his own, carefully unwrapping her own messy bandaging as she ate. 

It seemed her hand had stopped bleeding, thank God, and he carefully ran over it with a rag soaked in the disinfectant. She winced, half-attempting to jerk her hand back, though he held her still. 

"I'm sorry," he spoke quietly, rubbing a small circle on the back of her hand with his thumb, "Sorry." 

He let the disinfectant work, then wiped her hand with a second rag. Her hand was indeed done bleeding, though she could now see multiple freshly made cuts on her knuckles and fingers, along with bruising underneath them. 

Leon's eyebrows furrowed again as he looked at them for a moment and she had half the mind to apologize, though she stayed silent. He picked up the bandages next, wrapping her hand much more neatly than she had done herself. Exceptionally gently, avoiding putting more pressure than he needed to, and quietly apologizing every time Toko winced or reacted at all. 

Then, he was done, carefully taping it off and then glancing up at her. 

"Tradition calls, hm?" He grinned up at her before he lifted his hand to her lips, pressing a very small kiss to her knuckles. Her face heated up immediately as she looked away, wiping her hand on the now empty paper towel. 

"...D-Dork." 

Leon stood up, leaning closer to her once again, grinning at her with his hands on either side of her once more. 

"No one can prove that but you." 

She went to roll her eyes and to tell him everyone knew, though he stopped her by catching her lips with his own. She would have groaned if she wasn't exceptionally happy about it. 

He broke it first, she would have been perfectly happy not doing so, pressing his forehead to her's, their noses mushing together. 

"You're so pretty," he spoke quietly. He was standing between her legs, hands on either side of her, faces pressed together, "So cute" - "So strong" - "and smart and…" 

He kissed her between each compliment. 

"Absolutely perfect." 

She tried to bite back the giggle that she gave, not that it worked. It didn't seem he minded as his grin only grew. 

"See? Adorable," he leaned his face away, carefully pressing one finger to her nose with a whispered 'boop.' 

"D-Dork," she repeated with another quiet giggle. Fuck. She felt better. 

He chuckled, too, then wrapped his arms around her legs, "Absolutely. Only for you," he kissed her nose and then both her cheeks, "Do you wanna sit down and make fun of bad writing in teen romance movies with me?" 

She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck again. 

"O-Only if it's Twilight. I w-w-want to at least be able t-to admire Taylor Lautner wh-while I suffer through th-the writing." 

"Would you leave me for him?" He mocked offense as he wrapped her legs around his waist and then picked her up again. 

"Mmm… M-Maybe. Depends on th-the day." 

"Today?" He asked, adjusting her weight on his person before he started walking towards the living room. 

"N-No. Not at all." 

"Is it just 'cause I made you a grilled cheese?" He made his way to the couch and sank down, Toko once more in his lap, "'Cause I get it, but it still hurts." 

She shook her head, leaning her head on his chest again, "M-My reasons will remain a s-s-secret." 

He scoffed though she could sense the lack of malice behind it as he leaned forward, keeping one hand on her back so she didn't fall, picking up the remote and turning on the TV. 

"Well, fair enough. If Taylor told me he was gay…" Leon wolf whistled and she laughed. He opened some streaming site and she tucked her head into the crook of his neck, watching the screen, "Here you are, m'lady. A Twilight marathon just for you." 

She giggled, leaning more into him as he wrapped one arm around her torso. 

  
  


It was quite a few hours into their marathon, in which Leon had changed into his own pajamas and ordered them dinner (Toko's favourite place, notably) and they'd enjoyed that, cuddled up on the couch.

"Oh, oh I l-love this part!" Toko grinned from his neck, pointing in time with Jacob on screen, quoting his line, "'You're d-disappointing everyone! Charlie…. e-e-everyone!" 

He laughed at her antics, kissing the top of her hair and squeezing her with one arm. 

"You call me a dork?" 

"I-It's a funny line!" She defended, pouting with her arms over her chest, though she was grinning up at him. 

He rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to respond, only being cut off by a knock on the door and Sushi's responding barks. Toko's eyebrows furrowed behind her glasses and bangs, though he patted her shoulder reassuringly. 

"'S good. A gift for you," he sat up, stretching as he stood and making his way to the front door. She couldn't see the other side of the door as she listened to the exchange, watching as Leon let the door shut with a "Thank you! Have a good day," and turned to her. 

In his hand, he held up a tub of ice cream (cookie dough, from the look of it… her favourite) and carried it over to her. 

"For the lady of the day," he grinned at her, holding it out, waiting until she took it to run to the kitchen, returning quickly with two spoons in hand, "Ordered after I told Kathrine to go fuck herself." 

Kathrine being the mother of Toko's that had called, and him referencing the incredibly rude text he had sent before giving Toko the honour of blocking her. 

"H-How kind," she'd chuckled as she sat up, taking the spoon he handed her as he sat next to her. 

  
  


They continued to watch their shitty movie marathon, making fun of plot holes and shitty lines (Toko was especially critical of the writing - "Seriously, I-I wrote convincing r-romance before I knew wh-what  _ platonic  _ love f-felt like, let alone romantic, a-and Suzanne Collins can't even m-m-make me believe Bella actually l-likes Edward?! She's m-married!"), and clearing the entire tub. 

It was most the way into Breaking Dawn part one, listening to the screams of of Bella turn into a vampire and also giving birth, that Toko looked up at Leon with a small smile, prepared to thank him for the night. 

She'd spent the majority of her day feeling incredibly shitty and convinced he would leave her by 3:00PM, but now it was Ten, and she was smiling and laughing in his arms, Sushi asleep on the armchair across from them. 

However, as soon as she looked up she was distracted by two things - one, he actually looked  _ interested  _ in the movie, but more importantly, he had ice cream on his lip. It was absolutely an excuse to kiss him. And she was going to take it. 

So she tugged gently on his shirt to get his attention. It worked, he looked down at her, and immediately she stretched her neck up to kiss him, licking the ice cream off his lip with a quiet giggle. 

"Kh-?!" The quiet gasp he made was actually surprised, something she was  _ not  _ used to accomplishing, "What was that for?" 

"You had s-some on your lip," she answered honestly, then stretched up to kiss him again, "A-And because I can." 

He stared down at her another moment before he bent his neck, kissing her again and putting his hand on her cheek. 

God damn Toko Fukawa loved every second of kissing Leon Kuwata. 

… 

Scratch that.

Toko Fukawa simply loved Leon Kuwata. Absolutely everything about him. 

And as the hand on Toko's face slid around to become wrapped up in her hair and his other slid around to rest on the small of her back, holding her to him, and her own hands reached up to tangle in his hair, as she felt the goatee she hated as much as she loved brush against her chin… 

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, the voices of her mothers and father went silent, replaced with nothing more than the feeling that, yeah… 

Leon loved her, too. And… one shitty day wasn't going to change that. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> ....They're in love, what can I say?


End file.
